20 Ways To Improve Your Productivity When You're Working From Home
Supercharge Your Productivity
Working from home brings many benefits including not needing to commute, and allowing greater flexibility and freedom. However, it doesn't come without challenges. Staying on task when you have a distracting home life feels nearly impossible sometimes. Here are 20 things you can do to ensure you're making the most out of your working hours.
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1. Prioritize a Morning Self-Care Routine
Although it’s tempting to just roll out of bed two minutes before 9:00, it’s not an ideal way to begin work. Whether it’s doing a quick pilates routine or going for a walk, taking time for a morning self-care ritual ensures you start your day refreshed.
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2. Designate a Workspace
There’s nothing more annoying than trying to work when your space is too small or full of distractions. Having a designated workspace that fits your needs, is quiet, comfortable, and calm can do wonders for your productivity.
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3. Mute App Notifications During Work Hours
It’s hard to get any work done when your phone is constantly buzzing. Silencing notifications, or better yet, putting your phone in a different room, will be a game-changer.
4. Make a To-do List
Many of us have our list of tasks in our heads, jotted on sticky notes, and in an app, but try to keep all your tasks in one place for optimal organization. Make a manageable daily list so you don’t get overwhelmed.
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5. Do Household Chores Ahead of Work
When working from home, it’s easy to get distracted by dirty laundry, dishes, or unswept floors. Some of us can’t focus if we have these things in our line of vision. If this is you, try to get those chores done the night before work so you’re not tempted to leave your chair.
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6. Minimize Noise
Have a couple of kiddos running around or a loud partner? Minimize noise distractions by moving your workspace into a separate room (if available) or invest in some good quality noise-cancelling headphones.
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7. Take Breaks
At the office, taking breaks meant physically leaving your desk, having a chat by the water cooler, or eating lunch in the break room. With WFH, it’s a little harder to remind yourself to take proper breaks. Even when you’re swamped, it’s important for your productivity and health to leave your desk, even if just for a moment.
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8. Minimize App Switching
Many of us experience app overload at work where we’re using up to 10 different apps for our tasks, switching between them 20-plus times a day which is a problem for productivity. Think about how you can mitigate this, and if there’s a more modern all-in-one app you can use, suggest it to your manager.
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9. Know How to Disconnect From Work
When you’re working from your home, the boundaries between your work and personal life become blurred. Make sure that when your work hours are over, you’re fully disconnected and spending time doing the things that are meaningful to you so you don’t burn out.
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10. Connect With Your Team
WFH can be detrimental to morale. If you’re not talking to other humans, your mental health will suffer. Schedule time to connect with your team virtually, whether it’s to make sure everyone’s on the same page or to just chat and get to know your co-workers.
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11. Make A Schedule With Your Family
Family life can be chaotic, especially if you have young kids. Sit down with your family members and make sure you have a plan so you can take care of your personal obligations without being distracted from work.
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12. Dress For The Office
It may seem silly to put on a blazer and sit at home, but research shows it’s good for mental health and productivity to pretend you’re going to the office instead of logging into work in your sweatpants every day. If your commute used to be a bike ride or a walk to the subway, continue to do these things in the morning.
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13. Meal Prep
For maximal productivity, prep your meals the night before so you don’t have to make a big production in the kitchen during work. It’ll also help you eat healthier because you’ll eat what you set up for yourself instead of listening to your afternoon cravings.
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14. Set Office Hours
If you have the freedom to do so, set your office hours so they’re optimal for you. If your productivity suffers without at least an hour lunch break, or starting at 8 instead of 9 works better for you, talk to your manager.
15. Automate Simple Tasks
When working from home, you might find your workday getting bogged down by simple tasks which is annoying when you want your focus elsewhere. Luckily, there are plenty of tools cheaply or freely available to automate things like invoicing, scheduling, and client communication.
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16. Set Boundaries With Co-workers
You may love your co-workers, but that doesn’t mean you want to talk to them all the time. Make sure everyone knows that outside of working hours, you’re unavailable unless it’s an emergency.
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17. Leverage Asynchronous Communication
Studies have shown synchronous communication like virtual meetings to inhibit productivity in most cases. Wherever possible, streamline communication to asynchronous methods like email. That way you can respond whenever is convenient for you and your workflow isn’t interrupted.
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18. Develop a Routine
Humans are creatures of routine so most of us do this without having to think about it. However, if you’re not naturally a routine person, setting a daily ritual for yourself will do wonders for your productivity.
19. Make After Work Plans
A great way to ensure you disconnect from work and actually talk to humans in your day is to make after-work plans. It’ll also help you complete your tasks on time because you’re holding yourself accountable to a scheduled social obligation.
20. Eat Healthy
When working from home, the biggest temptation for many of us is the kitchen. Make sure you stock your cupboards with healthy snacks because fueling yourself with junk food will cause glucose spikes and crashes, impacting your energy levels and productivity.
